Sony Online Entertainment announced today that DC Universe Online has been delayed until early 2011. Here is the announcement:

"SOE is dedicated to delivering the highest quality game experiences possible," says John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment. "'DC Universe Online' is the first game of its kind, and a truly massive undertaking — the first action MMO set in the DC Universe, the first MMO on the PlayStation 3, and the first time the entire DC Universe will be accessible to the millions of fans who are eagerly anticipating its release. As the game heads into external beta testing, this extra time will allow us to address community feedback in a meaningful way. When we get deeper into external beta, we'll be able to share more information regarding the new launch date."

SOE has also revealed new details regarding the beta program. Players with VIP key cards and those having registered at the DCUO website will receive access on a priority basis starting as early as next week. As an added thank you, everyone that has already pre-ordered the game, and those who do so by November 15, 2010, are assured access to beta by November 30 (North America only).

Anyone pre-ordering the game after November 15 will gain beta access one week prior to the launch date and will be able to participate in the special beta ending event entitled Battle of the Legends with the rest of the beta participants. As an additional bonus, all beta participants will be recognized post release with a special emblem for their character when the game goes live. Beginning October 7, 2010, instructions on how to qualify and receive your pre-order beta key, visit: www.dcuniverseonline.com/betakey.

Those wishing to register for beta without pre-ordering have until 11:59pm PST tonight. This is a general queue and does not assure access.

Lastly, due to overwhelming demand from the community, SOE is pleased to announce that a Collector's Edition for the PlayStation 3 will also be released (North America only), which includes the same items contained in the PC version announced earlier this year – the DCUO Batman statue, the limited edition Art of DC Universe Online art book, the DCUO Legends Issue #0 comic book with a Jim Lee variant cover, the DCUO Prestige comic presentation of the DCUO back-story and the limited edition Jim Lee-drawn poster Version of the Issue #0 comic book variant cover.